Arches
by Kokolo
Summary: Rome is peppered with arches. Octavius preferred the one of flesh and bone to those made of immaculate marble. Jed x Octy slash if it wasn't already clear.


**Moar tinymanlove? Why the hell not?**

**So this was a gift fic for one of my awesometastic friend's birthday and because I'm a comment whore_ I post it for all to see_. **  
**Also, I may or may not have a serious love of teasing the hell out of Jedediah Smith. _Maybe_. **

**Enjoy!**

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Rome was littered with arches.

The keystone, an invention of his people, was considered one of the most important elements ever created when concerning architecture – or so the general had once heard from an orator guiding his pupils through the museum one night. Said stone enabled the Romans to build a great many things; homes, aqueducts, towns, cities, even great works that still stood today – most recognizably The Coliseum. It allowed the ancient peoples to build onward and upward, stacking one on top of the other to make much larger buildings with little threat of collapse as the Greeks did. The keystone focused all the tension and compression to one single point, and made the arch – including the keystone- remarkably stable. With stability on their side the Romans were free to become more ornate, carving and beautifying their arches and the columns that they borrowed graciously from the Greeks to create a blend of architecture that was as pleasing ascetically as it was effective.

Octavius, however, found no arch more beautiful than that of sinewy muscle rapped in tanned skin and perspiration, moaning and bending unnaturally but still an impossibly perfect arc from straining neck and downy blond hair to it's opposite end shedding it's rough denim skin.

Jedediah fell back to the bed, the arch crumbling with a short huff. Octavius so admired the cowboy – the way he moved and spoke, his vivaciousness, his character. It was a curiosity not well sated. It was commonplace in Rome to investigate, to explore and expand – and Octavius was no stranger to it. He suspected Jed was not either, his constant talk of Manifest Destiny and his obsession with expanding his diorama. But, the general reflected, it was what he liked best about the cowboy. Everything about him was an adventure, and exploration, something new to be discovered in any subject, be it religious views or societal values, in mathematics and science, language and arts. The things to learn were tireless as they were timeless and astounding.

He wasn't sure when, but Octavius surmised he had more or less fallen in love with Jedediah, if only based on fascination, though he was sure it rested in more than that.

He suspected they cowboy returned at least some of his affection. Why else would he allow something so intimate to take place? And so often, so readily, with a passion that Octavius could only expect from Jed. The first time had been an accident, a side effect of the rush of battle. They had kissed, and Octavius felt a thousand suns spark along his skin. Jed merely looked at him, horrified, and dashed away, his face a blotched sunburnt and embarrassed red. The Roman had thought his relationship with the cowboy over, and he reluctantly prepared himself for the upcoming battle the following nights, Jed absent from his side. Much to his surprise the Free Rider appeared to him one night in his chamber, mumbling nonsense and muddled phrases and tugging on his hat while the general listened patiently, overjoyed that Jed had not brought with him a posse and his rash anger.

Suddenly Jed had stopped talking and was looking silently at Octavius with something the general couldn't identify right away. He did, however, identify it soon enough, seeing as how Jed launched himself into the general's arms and kissed him hard, grabbing his cape hard enough to break the clasps. Not that Octavius noticed. He kissed the westerner back as hard and demanding as Jed would allow, and they remained wrapped up together, kissing hard until Larry called five minute warning.

Since then not a word was spoken of these times, but they happened with increasing frequency and ferocity. At first they merely kissed, harsh and desperate, pulled behind columns and mountains and sometimes in the car while they played fetch with Rexy for what Jed had dubbed a 'quick fix.' Things had progressed from there, the addition of hands and the subtraction of clothes, looking for more places to caress. It all intrigued Octavius to no end – what noise would the cowboy make if he pressed here, would he enjoy his mouth on this specific vein, how many curse could a single man say in sixty seconds – to name a few.

Now Octavius kneeled at the edge of his bed, his chamber door barred tight and his guards shooed away. Jedediah lay sprawled on top of his cot, panting and flushed, desperately thrashing his head from side to side. It seemed almost as if Octavius was tending to his friend in the throws of a terrible sickness. That is, if one was able to ignore the general's hand stroking a certain portion of the cowboy's anatomy methodically while the bedridden male moaned and cursed his name. In a way Octavius was performing a medical test, only he had no intention of ever sharing his findings. He had wondered, as Jed flung himself into his chamber and on top of his bed that night, how long the westerner could last if the same even pressure and tempo were kept throughout.

"Peace Jedadiah." Octavius soothed "Peace."  
"Well how the hell do ya expect me ta find peace when I'm so fuckin' close to comin' it's killin' me!" Jed shot back, the last few words caged behind grit teeth.

Octavius worried. Was the cowboy in pain or was this merely another expression of his? Though he was curious he thought better of asking, for every time his mouth open Jedediah cursed, the cries echoing off the walls of his chamber and drowning out anything he could have possibly asked. Moreover, Jed seemed too far gone to answer questions as simple as the one the roman wished to pose, and so Octavius let it be for the time being, remembering to ask him later if he truly brought pain or if Jed was merely exaggerating. For now, however, Octavius kept the gentle rhythm, going no faster or slower, no harder or softer while he observed the body beneath his hands writhe and react.

His mind on experimentation, taken in by the entire picture below him, Octavius wondered what Jed might do if he were to lean his head forward and press his lips to the throbbing maleness in front of him. A sudden disgust in the back of his mind made Octavius rethink, however. It was not he who laid on the bed, paralyzed with lust, his brain turned to ash and his voice reduced to guttural noises. Oh, he'd love to be in that place, to be reduced to such pleasure (preferably at Jedediah's hands), but as a man of duty he needed to see his task through to the end. Besides, to perform fellacio, even to one as brazen and 'new world' as Jed would probably disgust him, anyway.

It didn't much bother him that Jed, though he attacked the Roman on a regular basis, never seemed to reciprocate the actions Octavius so labored over. There was a stigma in his culture that was much less damning in Roman times, and Octavius understood his hesitancy. It did not stop the general from imagining and hoping that some night in the near future Jedediah would trust him enough to cast off his social bindings and return his affections without the aggressive front. Octavius knew it might be a long time in coming, but he was willing to wait.

"Are you close, my dear friend?" He asked Jed, who gave a low moan in response.  
"Ahm dyin' Octy!" He cried suddenly, his voice choked "You can't keep a man hurtin' like this he'll go deaf dumb an' blind."  
"I sincerely doubt, Jedediah." He breathed, smiling the slightest bit at the westerner's plight  
"C'mon Octy!" The Free Rider whined, his eyes glazed over and his face feverish. "You gotta… You gotta finish me off!"  
"I have no intention of assisting in your demise, Jedediah." The general teased, pausing for a moment.  
"Octavius!"  
"Yes?"  
"Goddamnit Octavius !"

Octavius smiled at the cowboy, a gesture completely missed seeing as how Jed's head had flown back to the pillow, his whole body arching off the bed and his eyes squeezed shut. The Roman dragged his hand up and down at the same pace; thinking perhaps a few more moments of data wouldn't hurt (that, and the chance to tease his dear friend was too great to be ignored). But then Jed let out a long, keening wail that ripped a moan from the general's throat. That arch was back in all it's glory, perfectly sculpted and trembling with life and need. Octavius didn't need to be begged any further.

The body arched off the bed again, Octavius' hand doubling and redoubling its speed around him. The Roman slipped a gentle hand underneath the writhing body, holding it aloft while he stroked, bent on observing the arch for as long as it would remain intact. Jed voiced complain, his head thrashing from side to side, his boot heels digging into the bed under him. Octavius exhaled, his eyes raking over the body, the ways the muscled moved and tightened, thrumming with life all their own. He swept his eyes up over the arch to the column of Jedediah's throat, his eyes stuck on the red, rough face. His eyes remained there, held fast by the sheer ferocity of it as his western compaion finally reached his apex, his cry sharp enough to cut through even the heavy door of the general's chamber.

For a moment, Octavius worried, fearing discovery for the Free Rider's sake, but the body above his arm went slack and Jed finally exhaled. He lowered the spent male back to the sheets and regarded him for a moment, flushed and panting, looking calm and sated for the time being- quite a good look for the man, he fancied. Octavius smiled gently and leaned forward, kissing around the open mouth until Jed shut it to swallow. Then the Roman kissed him properly, absent of anger and raw lust. He kissed the cowboy the way he only could when he was too weak to move. As it was Jed twitched uncomfortably and groaned, still sucking in deep breaths to reorient himself.

"Yer tryin ta kill me." Jedediah said after a while "Yer trin ta get my heart to stop and kill me."  
"Nothing of the sort, Jedediah, I assure you."  
"Then what the hell was that fer, makin' me scream like a damned polecat?" He asked irritably, pushing himself to his elbows.  
"Forgive me, my friend." Octavius replied sheepishly "I merely was curious. I know you can withstand a great many things. I wished to see how long you could withstand such pleasurable torture as that."

Jed looked at Octavius for a long few moments, holding his gaze. Finally he dared forward and hauled the Roman up by his tunic and kissed him, hard but soft at the same time. Certainly not the way Octavius was used to. He smiled into it and slid his hand into the cowpoke's blond curls and gripped him for a moment.

"Don' do that shit again, pardner." Jed warned as he pulled back. "I'll have yer hide."  
"Consider it done, my liege."

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**You're much less intimidating with your pants unbuttoned, Jed. But Octy will be nice anyway because he's a good person... miniature... thing. **

**Thanks for reading!**


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